get over it

Listen, I'm not going to relate this story to be unkind, okay? Here goes - at the last triathlon I did, I was doing some people watching while waiting around the pool deck for the event to start. For the most part, it was a few hundred people that looked like my neighbors - bankers, full time moms, accountants, corporate hacks, etc. There were a few there who looked ready to dominate, to be sure - nil body fat, skin suits that looked permanently bonded to their bodies, total eye of the tiger game face, etc. Since this was a typical cross section of society, there were some people there that had various degrees of a weight issue. One gentleman in particular (and again, not saying this to be unkind) had to be well over 300 pounds, and was wearing a lycra tri-suit that hovered nauseatingly between pink and purple. You know what though? He pretty much blended in. After all, 95% (no, that number was not scientifically derived) of the crowd was in lycra, and most of us didn't have bodies that anyone would put on the cover of a magazine - well, not a glamour magazine anyway; there were some nerdy folk that would have been great on the cover of any tech magazine, some others that probably had a net worth that could put them on Forbes, and personally I think I could grace the cover of Rookie Mistake Weekly (not an actual publication).

If I look at myself honestly, I see a guy that looks just fine. I'm not a youth, so my upper eye lids are a bit droopy, my beard is going grey, and since I used to be fat I'm kinda baggy around the middle. But, I'm healthy and clean and have all my body parts so I can blend in just fine. In fact, at a glance you might not notice anything particular at all about how I look - know why? We all pay SO MUCH attention to what we look like, and often have insecurities about it, that we really don't notice each other's appearance that much at all.

All that said, please do not let body image issues get in the way of exercising outdoors or at the gym. YES, you will encounter a handful of people that look like they just dropped down from Olympus. The vast majority of others out exercising will look pretty much like you. If there are clothes you can wear that would enhance your performance, and be appropriate for the exercise you are doing - wear them! My fave sport is cycling, and I have ALL the gear (see above pic). Yes, it's kinda ridiculous looking. I mean...so you see those compression leggings, matched with striped socks, tight bike shorts with the big pad between the legs, it's silly. BUT, it's the most comfortable thing for cycling, and the long sleeve jersey was perfect for that day's weather, and the compression gear is great for my varicose vein issues.

Will you look awkward and klutzy your first few times at yoga, pilates, barre, etc? Oh, hell yes you will. So was everyone else in there at first, and I've never met an instructor that won't home in on the newbies and help them out.

So that's it  - get out there and get fit, regardless of how you think you look. If you are overweight, what better clothes to wear than workout clothes? It means you're ready to work on it! Later, when you have become more fit, you can look at yourself again and enjoy the change. Oh, and last word - when you do get more fit, people will notice and compliment you, but then after awhile that will stop because 'fit' is your new normal. You'll need to keep at it anyway :-)

your dog wants to go for a walk

If you know just enough of my story to know that I used to be a fat, unhealthy guy, and now I'm a fit guy that does triathlons, runs 4 or 5 miles at a stretch routinely, and rides long distances on my bike, you are absolutely missing part of the story. I want to tell you about that missing part, just in case you're thinking 'oh geez, I guess the diet and exercise worked out well for HIM, but I could never do a triathlon, 10k or above, or any of that crazy stuff!'

You see, I didn't just wake up one day and say "well I haven't gone running in nearly 20 years, but  I've decided I'm a runner now so I'll go run 5 miles this morning." Well, actually I did do just that, and therein lies my point - that was a really STUPID idea. My body was nowhere near ready for that; true, I had taken my fat little dog for walks while I was losing weight, but just losing the weight did not prepare my body for that much running that quickly. Yes, after that first run I felt great. For a couple of weeks I was running daily, up to six miles at a time, and then one of my knees just seized up completely and I could barely walk. It turns out there's this thing in  your legs called an IT band? Anyway, it's a ligament that runs down the outside of your leg from hip to knee. The sudden increase in exercise severely over stressed my particular little IT band, and the spot where it attached to my knee was terribly inflamed and painful. My running career ground to a complete halt for several months. When it finally felt better, I resumed running, and started gearing up for the Dallas Marathon. Guess what happened? Well, that IT band apparently doesn't like freezing temps and running uphill, so part way through a 10 mile training run one dark 30 degree morning, my knee locked up and I fell on my face going up a hill. Only then did I go see a chiropractor and found out about the IT band - yes, it took having the same injury twice for me to go find out what was happening. As the weeks to the marathon slipped away, I tried to keep up with my conditioning by cycling (didn't stress the IT band that way) and stretching more often, but that was hampered because at this same time I was having a series of operations on my legs to address my varicose veins. With the marathon coming in December, I was barely able to do the one mile Turkey Trot fun run with my family on Thanksgiving. Ultimately, I had to skip the marathon, and got nothing out of the deal besides a cool work out shirt. Oh and then also my right foot/big toe was really hurting at the same time - so yeah, turned out I had some major bone spurs after all the running, plus all the marching in the Army with a heavy pack when I was younger, plus carrying the extra fat for so many years. A couple months after the marathon that I didn't run, I had foot surgery. Weeeee.

But wait, there's more! Just this past fall I joined a soccer team, after not playing since middle school. It was super fun, and my cardio conditioning absolutely paid off since I was able to keep up with the running up and down the field. Want to know what didn't work out? Playing too reckless and running into other players at full speed. TWICE I did that and seperated muscle/bones and such in my chest. Being nearly 50 and having chest pain on a soccer field sucks. I mean, I knew it wasn't a heart attack - I had just slammed my body into someone else HARD so clearly that was the cause of the pain, but still, it conjures up some scary scenarios. Anyway, it was ghastly painful and prevented a number of exercises for awhile. Last note on this topic before I move on to my point, I swear - a month or so ago I decided to try the rowing machine at the gym for some alternate cardio. Great machine. I asked a trainer to show me the proper form, then my second time doing it I promptly increased my time on the machine to 30 minutes, having done just 10 the first time, and all at an increased resistance. Well yes, yes indeed I did hurt my lower back and had to stop running and cycling for a bit in order to rehabilitate it.

You could come away from reading this thinking, "note to self - don't exercise! Don't leave the house! It'll hurt!" HOWEVER, I'd rather you come away thinking, "I should really think through what my exercise goals are, and plan accordingly/work up slowly." If you are wanting to start exercising, or are wanting to start exercising more consistently, don't get caught up in all the marathon/triathlon hype, at least not right away! Start small and go slow, it's okay! If there is a sport or activity you want to try - by all means check it out but do some thinking and research to see what that activity requires of your body and then honestly asses where you're at! A nagging injury that keeps you from exercising at all, or at least makes it more difficult, can absolutely derail you.

When I did my first half marathon, I fell apart in spectacular fashion at the ten mile mark because I hadn't properly fueled up. For the last 3.1 miles I did the wobbly leg baby giraffe walk and got totally beat by some guy that was over 70. The lesson that I'm still learning from that is that really I have another 20 to 30 years to do this sports stuff, so I don't have to conquer all the hills today. Neither do you. If you are just now starting your fitness regime, or if you're feeling discouraged because you miss gym days more often than you make them, your dog absolutely wants to go for a walk. Wouldn't it be nice for both of you? True, the runners, cross fit freaks, and barbell busters won't be impressed, but you'll have gotten pure vitamin D from the sun exposure, fresh oxygen will fill your lungs, your heart muscle will get some exercise, and you'll boost your metabolism for the whole day! Don't have a dog? Walk with your kid, walk with your spouse, walk with a coworker at lunch time - just do it! Is Jesus a friend of yours? Shoot, he'd love to chit chat with you as you walk along.

So, to review - exercise smart, plan your workouts so that you work up slowly and avoid injury, and let simple things like walks be your exercise if that's where you're at. That little picture of me and my dog Mandy is recent by the way - I'm still learning about taking the smart way, so some days I just take her for a walk, even though I do have to carry her up the hills.

I'd love to answer any questions that I can, or point you to some websites with good training info, so feel free to comment below!!